If you own a small business, you know that keeping track of bookings and appointments can be a huge pain.
The good news is that there are some great free booking software options out there for small businesses. The bad news? They’re all different, and it can be hard to figure out which one is right for your business.
To make things easier, we’ve put together this list of the top five free booking software tools available today. We’ll help you figure out which one is best for your needs—and then show you how to set up each tool so that it works seamlessly with your existing systems.
Free Booking Software For Small Business
Appointment scheduling software allows clients to view a calendar of your business’s available meeting times and self-book an appointment. It also lets business owners manage appointments, send automatic reminders, and accept deposits online. Free appointment scheduling software can be hard to find, as many programs are simply limited versions of larger, paid services. However, we identified seven programs that provide comprehensive features at no cost.
The best free appointment scheduling software are:
Picktime: Best overall software for scheduling appointments of any kind
Square Appointments: Best for solo providers needing unlimited appointments, scheduling, payment, and SMS reminders
10to8: Best for robust features and lots of integrations
Appointlet: Best for sales teams needing to manage clients and convert leads
Fresha: Best for beauty and wellness businesses needing inventory and POS
Setmore: Best for gyms and businesses needing to set appointments for multiple staff members or classes
Calendly: Best for making appointments with clients or scheduling meetings with co-workers
Free Appointment Scheduling Software Compared
Class/Group Bookings
Notification Types
Website Integrations
Appointment Limits
Number of Free Users
Picktime
✓
Email (SMS with paid option)
✓
Unlimited appointments; 2 class bookings per month
3 users
Square Appointments
✓
SMS and email
✓
Unlimited
1 user
10to8
✓
SMS, voice call, and email
✓
100 per month
2 users
Appointlet
✓
Email (SMS possible with Zappier plugin in paid plan)
✓
Unlimited
1 user
Fresha
✕
Email (SMS and Fresha App notifications in paid plan only)
✕ (with paid plan only)
Unlimited
Unlimited
Setmore
✓
Email (SMS with paid plan)
✓
Unlimited
4 users
Calendly
✕ (only with paid plan)
App notifications (email and SMS with paid plans)
✓
Unlimited (only one event-type)
1 user
If your needs require more than a free plan can offer, consider the paid plans offered by some of these providers or any of our other top appointment scheduling software.
How We Evaluated Free Appointment Scheduling Software
For free appointment scheduling software to work for your business, it needs to account for all the nuances that go into booking an appointment. For example, some businesses charge clients during the booking process or need clients to fill out a questionnaire before confirming their appointment. Others need support for multiple employees or may want video integration that automatically adds meeting links to the confirmation email.
To evaluate free appointment scheduling software, we looked carefully at all of these features. Noting which are available for free versus which require a premium upgrade. The last thing you want is to get all set up and then find out you need to pay a monthly fee to access one essential feature. We also evaluated each software’s quality, ease of use, and customer support.
Picktime was our top scorer with a 4.46 out of 5 as its final score. It offers nearly every feature we looked for and works for multiple users—all for free. Click through the tabs below for our detailed evaluation criteria.
BREAKDOWN
FREE PLAN LIMITATIONS
APPOINTMENT BOOKING TOOLS
BACK OFFICE FEATURES
EXPERT SCORE
30%
Free Plan Limitations
30%
Appointment Booking Tools
20%
Back Office Features
20%
Expert Score
*Percentages of overall score
Picktime: Best Overall Free Appointment Scheduling App
Picktime logo
Overall Score: 4.46 OUT OF 5
What We Like
Automatic email reminder notifications
Class/group booking options
Intake forms and questionnaires included
What’s Missing
SMS reminders only with paid plans
Limited class bookings with free plan
Free Plan Features:
Supports two locations
Unlimited appointments
Email notifications
Online booking page
Payment processing
Website booking widget
Booking forms
Team schedule management (three people)
Invoicing
Reports and analytics
Picktime is a relatively new appointment scheduling app that has been growing over the last several years and receiving rave reviews from its adopters. The software offers a robust bank of free features, including adding booking forms, taking deposits, generating invoices or accepting payments online, and sending automated email reminders.
Picktime earned an overall score of 4.46 out of 5 because of its free feature offerings and ability to support multiple staff members, classes, and calendar syncs. The app mainly lost points because of several key features that are locked behind paid plans, including SMS notifications and unlimited class bookings.
Picktime Pricing
When it was first introduced in 2017, Picktime was entirely free. That is no longer the case and the software has since added several paid plans, although it still offers a robust free option that works for most small businesses. Its other two plans, Starter and Pro, include more features, allow for more users, and offer more class bookings. The free plan is a great place to start, however, and with Picktime’s paid options, there are opportunities for the software to grow with your business.
Starter – $9.99 per month
Pro – $19.99 per month
Picktime Standout Features
Multiple location access: Picktime supports multiple locations, allowing you to manage appointments for two branches from the same dashboard. It can also detect your client’s location to find the branch nearest them.
Three free users: Unlike most of the other software on this list, Picktime’s free plan is not limited to one or two users. Only Setmore and Fresha allow more free users.
Customer management: Quickly access your customer data for marketing promotions and discounts, leave customer notes for your staff, and import/export customer data from anywhere. Additionally, your customers can keep track of their upcoming appointments by creating their own Picktime account.
Video, calendar, and payment processing integrations: Picktime’s key integrations include Jitsi (free), Google Meet (paid), Microsoft Teams (paid), Zoom (paid), Skype (paid), Google, Outlook, iCloud, Office 365, Microsoft Exchange, PayPal, Square, and Stripe.
What Picktime Is Missing
While Picktime offers a great menu of free features and positive reviews, the software program does lock some important features like SMS and popular video integrations, behind its paid plans. Additionally, the free plan does not allow for unlimited class bookings, and there are no customization options for your email and SMS reminders. For both SMS notifications and unlimited class bookings, try Square Appointments.
Square Appointments: Best for Solo Providers Needing Unlimited Appointments
Square Appointments
Overall Score: 4.44 OUT OF 5
What We Like
Included POS system
Unlimited free features
No-show protection
Booking page integrations on website, Google, Facebook, and Instagram
What’s Missing
Free for only one user
Calendar sync with Google only
No video appointment integration
Free Plan Features
All of Square Appointments features are free for one person. There are, however, a number of multistaff and add-on features that you can choose from.
Booking webpage
SMS and email reminders
No-show and cancellation management
Square Assistant
Payment processing, instant transfers, and invoicing
POS system (contactless payments and bookings)
CRM features
Square Appointments is ideal for a single-person business because it gives you access to all of its main features without hiding anything behind a paywall or showing pesky ads. You can set up a webpage where clients can view your open time slots, book an appointment, and pay for their service. This webpage can even be linked to your social media accounts and integrated into your website. Like Fresha, Square will also provide you with a free point-of-sale (POS) tablet when you join their program, and customers can book and pay for appointments from there as well.
Square Appointments also sends automatic email or SMS reminders when the appointment is drawing near. It syncs your appointments with Google Calendar, so any conflicts you have are automatically removed from your booking page.
In our scoring, Square Appointments earned a 4.44 out of 5 due to its rich available features and easy booking features. The program mainly lost points for its lack of video integrations and limited calendar syncing.
Square Appointments Pricing
Square Appointments scales its pricing based on the number of users. That means that no matter what plan you use, you will be able to access all the available features and perks. For one person, Square is entirely free. From there, pricing is as follows
2-5 users: $50 per month
6-10 users: $90 per month
11+ users: Custom-priced
Square Appointments Standout Features
SMS appointment notifications: While every one of our providers offer some kind of appointment notifications, Square is unique in that it includes SMS in its free plan. 10to8 is the only other plan that offers text notifications as part of its free service.
Square Assistant: Square Appointments’ text services also utilize Square Assistant, an automated messaging tool enabling 24/7 replies concerning appointment confirmations, cancellations, or rescheduling.
Booking page customization: Additionally, Square has great customization options for your online booking page and allows you to design a page without any Square branding. You can customize the description, duration, and pricing of your list of services and choose how they will display (as a menu of calendar, for example) on your booking site.
POS: Signing up for Square Appointments also gives you access to Square POS, which includes tools for payment processing, customer management, and inventory tracking.
Video, calendar, and payment processing integrations: Square Appointments’ key integrations include Google, PayPal, Square, and Stripe.
What Square Appointments Is Missing
While Square Appointments has a lot to offer for one person, the program did lose some points for limiting their free program to a single employee. For up to three free users, Picktime is a great choice. Additionally, unlike Setmore, Appointlet, and Calendly, there is no video integration, and calendar syncing only works with Google.
Read our Square Appointments review to learn more.
10to8: Best for Robust Features & Lots of Integrations
10to8
Overall Score: 4.25 OUT OF 5
What We Like
Syncs with all calendars
Two-way chat feature
Includes questionnaire and intake forms
What’s Missing
Limited to 100 appointments per month
Customization of booking page only with paid plan; 10to8 branding with free plan
Free Plan Features
10to8’s free plan includes all the appointment scheduling features, and paid plans include several additional customization features.
SMS, email, and/or voice reminders
Booking website (10to8 branding)
Integrates with Facebook
Payment processing
Customizable questionnaires
Receive calendar update notifications via SMS
Manage appointments and availability from your 10to8 app
CRM and sales reporting
10to8 is another feature-rich appointment scheduling app with extensive integration options. 10to8 offers booking for individuals or classes, calendars for multiple staff members, customizable questionnaires, payment acceptance online, and calendar sync with multiple calendars. It also offers video chat integration for virtual appointments. In fact, the software has over 1,500 integrations, making for a seamless adoption for most retailers.
With 4.25 out of 5 stars, 10to8 is an excellent software for just about any small business due to its extensive free features and integrations. 10to8 lost points mainly because of its appointment and customization limitations.
10to8 Pricing
Like Square Appointments, 10to8’s free plan includes all appointment scheduling features, but is limited by the number of staff members it can support. Unlike Square, however, 10to8 also limits your monthly appointments, with higher appointment limits coming with larger plans. 10to8’s free plan is a great option for solo or two-person operations.
Free: All features. 100 appointments per month, two staff members, no branding capability
Basic ($9.60 per month): All features. 100 appointments per month, two staff members, custom branding
Grow ($20 per month): All features. 300 appointments per month, three staff members, custom branding
Bigger Business ($40 per month): All features. 600 appointments per month, six staff members, custom branding
Enterprise (Custom Quote): All features. Unlimited appointments per month, Unlimited staff members, custom branding. HIPAA tools. Phone support.
10to8 Standout Features
Calendar sync: 10to8, along with Calendly, is one of the best options for calendar syncing. Unlike our other options, 10to8 syncs with all major calendars including iCal, Outlook, Office 365, and Google.
SMS notifications: 10to8 offers SMS reminders, a service that only it and Square provide. Not only that, but 10to8 offers voicemail notifications for even more assurance against forgotten appointments.
Video, calendar, and payment processing integrations: The software also has over 1,500 integrations, making it easy to add 10to8 to your existing systems and website. Among its video calendar, and payment processing integrations are Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google, iCal, Exchange, Office 365, Outlook, PayPal, and Stripe.
What 10to8 Is Missing
While 10to8 has a great list of offerings, it does have its drawbacks. 10to8 does not offer unlimited appointments and you cannot customize your messaging or booking page with the free plan. A better option for customization is Square Appointments.
Appointlet: Best for Sales Teams
Appointlet logo
Overall Score: 4.23 OUT OF 5
What We Like
Rich video integrations
Dashboard for creating and managing meetings
Embed calendar anywhere in your sales funnel
Intake forms and questionnaires
What’s Missing
Customization and branding only with paid plans
Free plan only supports one team member
Free Plan Features:
Appointlet offers a rich host of features in its free program. The only things that this software keeps behind its paywall are its more advanced customization tools and team management features.
Meeting dashboard for viewing and schedule management
Brand logo on calendar
Embed scheduling page on website, calendar, landing page, and/or email
Unlimited appointments
Automatic email booking notifications
Custom intake forms
Display welcome message on meeting invites
Collect payments
Require advance notice for meeting scheduling
Set maximum meetings per day
Appointlet is a great choice for managing sales teams and leads. With Appointlet, you can integrate your schedule at any point in your sales funnel, whether that be your website, emails, or landing pages. From there, clients and team members can view your availability and schedule appointments that will automatically appear on your schedule. They can even pay for services from your booking page, if necessary.
There are also rich CRM channels for managing your clients as well as an Appointlet dashboard where you can easily update and view your appointments and meetings in one place. Not only that, but with Google calendar and Office 365 integrations and several video chat channels, Appointlet makes it easy to manage sales and meetings seamlessly.
Appointlet scored closely to 10to8, with a 4.23 out of 5 as its final score. In addition to its sales team management features, Appointlet also allows unlimited monthly bookings. The program did lose some points, however, for restricting its users in the free program and putting advanced customization behind its paid plan.
Appointlet Pricing
Appointlet offers a great free plan with all their “essential” features. The plan allows for unlimited appointments, but only accommodates one staff member. Appointlet also offers a paid plan with more advanced features both in terms of customizations and team management. Like Square Appointments, Appointlet increases their price based on the number of users.
Appointlet’s pricing and plans are as follows:
Free: Appointlet provides its “essential” features free for one user
Premium ($10 per month, per member): Customizable branding, automated booking reminders, pooled availability for teams, private meeting types, Zapier integrations
Appointlet Standout Features
Intake forms: Appointlet makes it easy to get to know your clients before their appointment with custom intake forms and questionnaires. Its field types include text, checklists, multiple choice, and address fields.
Customized booking page: While not as extensive as Square, Appointlet lets you display a custom welcome message on your booking page; the software’s branding, however, will still be present with its free program.
Meeting management: You can opt to approve appointments manually, require advanced bookings notice, and restrict the number of attendees for any given event or meeting.
Video, calendar, and payment processing integrations: Appointlet offers integrations with Google Meet, Join.me, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, GoToMeeting, Cisco WebEx, Google, Office 365, Square, PayPal, and Stripe.
What Appointlet Is Missing
While Appointlet is a great choice for managing sales teams, it is lacking in a few areas. First, unlike several of our top providers (including Picktime or 10to8), Appointlet limits the number of supported staff members to only one on its free plan and then you pay a monthly fee per person, per month, for every additional person. Additionally, there are limited customization options on the free plan. For more free customization options, try Square Appointments.
Fresha: Best for Beauty & Wellness Businesses
Fresha
Overall Score: 4.13 OUT OF 5
What We Like
Unlimited staff members and appointments
Rated 4.9 out of 5 stars by over 1,100 users
Includes POS system with inventory tracking
What’s Missing
No video integrations
Online booking and payment processing only with paid plan
Can only list business on Fresha app with paid plan
Free Plan Features
Fresha has introduced a slew of new features over the past several years, and have included them in their paid program. For their free plan, however, you still get all of their basic scheduling offerings and access to the well-renowned user dashboard.
Book appointments in-person only
POS and inventory tracking
Email notifications
Top-reviewed user interface
Manage schedule and appointments via Fresha dashboard
Sales reporting and CRM
Employee schedule management
Fresha is a very popular and highly reviewed app in the beauty and wellness industries. The software has specific programs for a variety of industries, including salons, gyms, personal training, and more. It allows you to book unlimited appointments for as many staff members as you wish in as many locations as you need. It also has unlimited email notifications and a coinciding dashboard where you can view and manage your appointments.
Overall, Fresha earned a 4.13 out of 5 in our scoring. Fresha stands out from most of the competition in that, like Square, it includes a POS and inventory system in its free program. It loses points, however, because some of the features offered by other free software, such as SMS text reminders and class bookings, are only with its unique paid plan.
Fresha Pricing
Fresha’s pricing structure is a bit different from the rest. Unlike our other options that charge a flat monthly rate, Fresha charges you for transactions as well as a 20% commission fee for each new client you acquire through the Fresha marketplace. The catch? You can only list on the marketplace and process payments when you sign up for their paid plan.
Free: Unlimited number of employees, POS, inventory
Fresha Plus (2.19% plus 20 cents per transaction + 20% new client fee): Everything in the free plan plus online booking, payment processing, no-show protection, marketing tools, SMS text reminders
Fresh Standout Features
Reporting capabilities: Fresha makes it easy to manage your salon or other beauty and wellness business with unlimited free reporting.
Unlimited locations and users: Use one account to manage multiple locations. Additionally, Fresha supports your entire team with unlimited users and appointment bookings.
POS: Fresha allows you to set up payment types for use during checkout. The platform can add tips on checkout and set payment and discount types, staff commission rates, and voucher duration.
What Fresha Is Missing
While Fresha is beloved by many of its users, it does lack some of the features that other software provides. For example, unlike Square Appointments, Fresha does not have text notifications or class or group booking options. Additionally, all of our other options provide online booking in their free plans, but with Fresha’s free plan, you can only book in-person via the Fresha POS system. Online booking is only available with the paid plan.
Read our Fresha review to learn more.
Setmore: Best for Managing Staff Members & Hosting Classes
Setmore
Overall Score: 3.47 OUT OF 5
What We Like
Unlimited class bookings
Team calendar management and syncing
Facebook and Instagram booking page integration
What’s Missing
SMS notifications only with paid plan
No intake form capabilities
Free Plan Features
Setmore offers a basic free plan with a rich variety of management features. It does, however, bar some key features behind its paid plan, including SMS notifications and message customizations.
Class bookings
Email reminders
Facebook and Instagram integration
CRM integrations
Automatic confirmation emails
No show deposit protection
Setmore supports up to four free users and is loaded with features that make it great for managing teams. Clients can book online and see which employees are available at a particular time. Or, you can add appointments manually from the dashboard, as well as reschedule or reassign appointments with just a few clicks. Setmore also lets you accept payments and maintain a customer database. It also integrates with mailing, sales, and CRM programs, as well as a multitude of business apps.
Setmore’s rich management features and user-friendly interface earned it a 3.47 out of 5. But, it lost points as a free plan because it charges for many of the features that other scheduling software on our list offer free. (Paid features include SMS reminders, customization, and video integration.) However, its paid plans are reasonably priced, especially if you have three or more employees.
Setmore Pricing
Setmore has three plans to choose from, based on the features and customization that you want. The two paid plans, however, have the same offerings, with the Pro plan simply offering a better rate for larger teams.
Free: Most features for up to four employees, payment with Square only
Premium ($12 per user, per month): One to two users, includes all free features, plus SMS reminders, custom notifications, recurring appointments, Zoom, calendar sync, payment with Square or Stripe
Pro ($9 per user, per month): Three-plus users, includes all free and premium features
Setmore Standout Features
Four free users: Other than Fresha’s unlimited user plan, Setmore’s free plan allows for more users than any of the other providers on our list.
Social media integration: You can add your Fresha booking page directly to both your Instagram and Facebook pages, so that customers can book directly from wherever they find you.
Video meetings: Offer one-on-one virtual appointments or small group sessions via Teleport video calls.
Video, calendar, and payment processing integrations: Setmore also has a slew of integrations for your business, including Zoom (paid), Teleport, Google (paid), Office 365 (paid), Square, Stripe (paid), and PayPal (paid).
What Setmore Is Missing
While Setmore has a host of great staff management features, it hides several key abilities behind its paywall. SMS notifications, calendar syncing, video appointments, and customizations are all exclusive to Setmore’s paid plans. All of the other programs on this list offer calendar syncing in their free plans and, as mentioned above, there are options for free SMS notifications (Square Appointments and 10to8).
Calendly: Best for Scheduling Meetings & Appointments
Calendly logo that links to the Calendly homepage in a new tab.
Overall Score: 3.13 OUT OF 5
What We Like
Video integrations
Syncs with multiple calendar programs
Easy to use appointment management
What’s Missing
Free plan limited to one user
No appointment notifications in free plan
Free Plan Features
Calendly offers a basic package of features for free users and more advanced offerings in its paid plans.
Unlimited meetings and appointments (single event type)
Automated event notifications via Calendly app
Add Calendly widget to your website
Personalized booking link
Calendly offers a strong and user-friendly appointment scheduling system that works well for both managing in-office meetings and scheduling client appointments. With Calendly, you can send emails with your Calendly booking link or embed to let them see your available times, making it easier to schedule group meetings. It can also send out notifications via the Calendly app and has integrations with video conferencing software.
Calendly is loaded with features for teams that deal with a high volume of appointments: You can assign team members round-robin based on various rules or when all necessary team members are available. Unfortunately, none of these features are available with the free version of Calendly. Look to Square Appointments for a single-person free plan with all the perks and features.
Calendly got high marks from user reviewers, and our expert review gave it 3.13 out of 5 stars because so many features require a paid plan. However, should you be looking for a free program that can scale, Calendly may be a good bet.
Calendly Pricing
Calendly’s pricing structure increases in price as both the number of supported users as well as features and capabilities increase.
Free: Calendly provides a basic version free for one user. You can only book one event type, which means you can only set up a single meeting duration, name, location, and description.
Premium ($10 per person, per month): Two calendars per user, unlimited event types. Pooled availability, group bookings, customize notifications, 700+ integrations
Pro ($15 per person, per month): Six calendars per user, adds online payments and SMS notifications
Teams ($20 per person, per month): Everything in Pro, create round robin events, set admin permissions, integrate with Salesforce
Calendly Standout Features
Calendar sync: One of our top options for calendar syncing (10to8 is another), Calendly syncs with Google, Office 365, Outlook, and iCloud calendars.
Website integration: Embed Calendly in your website or add it via pop-up or widget so visitors can book with you without leaving the site.
Meeting booking and management: Calendly allows you to customize your booking link for easier sharing, create meeting polls where employees can vote on different meeting time options based on their preferences, and set up automated event notifications.
Video, calendar, and payment processing integrations: In addition to Slack and Google Meet, Calendly has a host of other integrations, including Zoom, WebEx, Google, Office 365, iCloud, Outlook, PayPal, and Stripe.
What Calendly Is Missing
While there are a lot of great features for managing both meetings and appointments with Calendly, the free scheduling program does lack some key features. Unlike Square Appointments, Fresha, and Appointlet, Calendly restricts you to one meeting type. Additionally, there are no email of SMS notifications for your clients and no class/group bookings in the free plan.
Bottom Line
Appointment scheduling programs make it easy for you and your clients or co-workers to manage your schedules and book appointments and meetings without the hassle of the back and forth. There are a ton of great free options available for appointment scheduling apps, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
best appointment scheduling software for small business free
Are you looking for a free online booking system?
Then you’ve landed in the right place.
There are many powerful and free appointment booking apps available today.
So if you’re just starting out, and you’re on a tight budget, there’s really no reason to pay a hefty bill for expensive software anymore.
For example, Square Appointments is free for individuals and when you sign up with this special offer, you even get a $2,000 bonus that you can use to cover your credit card processing fees.
This article gives you a summary of all the best online booking apps on the market right now. This list includes free salon software solutions as well we other free appointment scheduling apps that aren’t industry-specific.
Let’s dive right in!
Overview of the Best Free Scheduling Software
Following the table below, I will dive into each free appointment software in more detail.
Note: You may need to scroll the table to the right to see all details.
Salon Booking Software Free Plan Primary Industry Features Ease-of-use SMS Prepayments Website Embed Google & Instagram Geography
Fresha/Shedul Subscription free at all levels Salon & Spa Software 3(5) 5(5) Yes Yes No Yes Global
Square Appointments Free for individuals Any local businesses (including salons) 5(5) 5(5) Yes Yes No Yes US, Canada, Australia
Schedulicity 10 free appointments per month Salon & Spa Software 3(5) 4(5) Yes Yes No Yes US, UK
SimplyBook.me 50 free appointments per month Any industry 4(5) 4(5) Yes (at cost) Yes (at cost) Yes Yes Global
Calendly Free for individuals Online businesses & coaches 4(5) 5(5) Yes Yes Yes No Global
Setmore Free up to 4 users Any industry 4(5) 4(5) Yes (at cost) Yes Yes Yes Global
Picktime Subscription free at all level Any industry 3(5) 4(5) Yes Yes Yes No Global
This table should give you a good overview of the leading free online booking systems. Let’s now take a closer look at the top 3 free appointment scheduling apps so that you can judge which one is right for your business.
- Fresha: Best 100% Subscription Free Salon Scheduling Software (Worldwide)
Fresha Salon Software – Image of Website Header
Fresha, previously called Shedul, is a complete system for salons with an easy to use appointment calendar. It’s the only 100% subscription-free salon booking system, so for individual stylists or new salons that need to keep fixed costs low, this is the perfect option.
Apart from the robust salon appointment scheduling, Fresha features a point-of-sale system, staff scheduling, product, and stock management, payment processing, financial reporting and analytics, and a range of marketing tools.
Fresha makes it easy for you to attract clients online through your own website, the Fresha marketplace, or by connecting to their Instagram and Facebook business pages.
Screenshot of Fresha appointment booking app
(Screenshot image source)
You’ll be surprised how much you get with your free Fresha subscription. It’s no wonder it’s the fastest-growing salon appointment system with 250’000 stylists and therapists in more than 120 countries.
It gives you a lot of the advanced features you’d normally need to pay for – like free SMS, built-in no-show protection, and marketing automation (e.g. like client birthday emails).
An important difference with Fresha is that they offer a salon client marketplace. This allows you to promote your business and get discovered by new clients. Note that this is also where they earn their money back. When you market your salon or spa on the platform and you get a new client, they’ll charge you 20% of the appointment. Also, as you’ll be using their credit card payment gateway, you’ll also be charged transaction fees when clients pay online (2.19% + $0.2).
This means you only pay when the platform is generating business for you which I think makes a lot of sense.
The main reason I like Fresha is that it’s so easy to use and despite being subscription-free, you get many of the features that other companies charge for.
One thing to keep in mind with Fresha is that it works best as a complete system on their platform. If you already have an established website and other marketing solutions, other options might give you more control and flexibility.
Pros
Free subscription for unlimited staff
Integrates with Facebook, Instagram, and Google
User friendly and easy to learn
Available in many languages
Cons
Limited options to customize the appearance (default designs looks very good though)
Limited support for integration with other platforms. You’re kind of locked into using the Fresha tools.
Fresha Pricing
Subscription FREE for unlimited staff
20% New client fee – applies only to the first appointment of new clients via the Fresha marketplace website and apps. Fees never apply to returning clients, or any appointments made via your own website or social media pages
2.19% + $0.20 Payment processing fee per transaction across all payment methods
Read my detailed Fresha review
Start using Fresha for free
- Square Appointments: Best Scheduling Software in the US, Canada, and Australia
Square Appointments – Image of Website
Square Appointments is beautifully designed and super easy to use. This is the go-to solution for many local businesses as it is rich in functionality, integrates with the full range of Square tools, and is free for individuals to start using.
When joining Square, you get access to so much more than “just” Square Appointments. Even if that might be the only feature you need right now, you can easily integrate their credit card payment tools, POS system, marketing features, online store, payroll & team management, and more when you need it.
Square is set up to grow with you as your business grows and is a complete business partner for small and bigger businesses.
Square Appointments – Image of app
(Screenshot image source)
What I found most impressive is how well it supports client/staff notifications and online bookings. While you work in the simple calendar view and arrange appointments, your clients and employees are kept up-to-date with simple, customizable notifications.
You also have several options when integrating the booking feature on your website. You can embed it or link out to your booking page. This makes it very powerful vs. some of the competitors.
On top of that, Square Appointments is very strong at the business fundamentals (like inventory management and client data management).
I highly recommend Square Appointments for all-size businesses. Given you can start using it for free, I recommend you give it a try by signing up for a free plan here.
Pros
Free for individuals
Well designed, easy to use, interface
Very strong client notification support
Integration with the full suite of Square applications for endless possibilities
Robust core business management (inventory, reports, and client data)
Cons
Limited design flexibility
You can change colors but not completely make it fit your brand
Only available in the U.S., Canada, and Australia at the moment
Square Appointments Pricing
FREE for individuals
$50/month for a team of 5 staff
$90/month for a team of 10 staff
Credit card process fee of 2.6% + $0.1 when you allow clients to pay for appointments using the app. Note that you will always pay a credit card fee no matter which scheduler you use.
Read My Detailed Square Appointments Review
Start using Square Appointments for Free (Special Offer)
Exclusive Discount on Square Appointments (Limited Time)
Get a $2,000 credit card process bonus when you sign up for Square here. This offer is only available for a limited time and at The Salon Business only.
- Schedulicity
Schedulicity Salon App – Image of Website
Schedulicity is another good salon appointment scheduling platform that has grown into an all-in-one system that now offers payment processing, automated email marketing, and a marketplace where local online customers can discover you.
Screenshots of Schedulicity salon software app
(Screenshot image source)
Users can process payments instantly through Square or Stripe or use the built-in payment processing with Schedulicity Pay.
The add-on pricing model means that you can pick and choose from the features you need and potentially save money. However, the fee for the communication/marketing piece can double your monthly cost.
Schedulicity is good for small businesses that later can grow into the system. It’s a good all-in-one solution but doesn’t offer many integrations.
Pros
No contracts, cancel anytime you want
Pay only for the add-ons you need
Good customer service
Option to block repeat no-show customers
Cons
Cost increases when adding add-ons
Limited integrations apart from calendars sync with Yahoo, Outlook, iCal, Hotmail, and Office 365
Limited to the US and Canada
Schedulicity Pricing
Free plan for 10 bookings per month
$20/month for a solo user
$30/month for 2-5 users
$40/month for 6-10 users
$50/month for 11+ users
Only choose the additional add-ons that you need. (See Schedulicity pricing).
Start to use Schedulicity
Summary
As you’ll have seen in this article, there are a number of great free appointment scheduling systems out there.
If your budget is limited, these will work very well for you can also grow with the solution and later move to a paid plan if you need more features or support for more staff than what’s offered on the free plan.
Benefits of using a scheduling software
Save time. Fewer phone calls, text messages, and e-mails that disturb during client treatments
Automatic e-mail or text reminders helps avoid no-shows
Clients can book and reschedule 24/7
Get appointments via Google, Instagram, and Facebook
Take payments. Receiving payments during booking is convenient and helps reducing customer no-shows
A client can more easily review appointment details
Helps staff manage their appointments
Conclusion and my top picks
Out of the ones I’ve tested the below three are my top free online reservation systems.
My top 2 choices
Fresha logo
Fresha is an excellent all-in-one solution for salons and spas that is free and very easy to get started with.
However, more experienced salon owners might want more customization options and control over integrations than what Fresha offers.
Start using Fresha for free
Square Appointments logo
Square Appointments is perfect for users who want a complete business system that is free for solo owners and easy to use. You really get all you need with Square Appointments and the other tools from Square.
If you want more control and flexibility and already use other business tools, you might like to look at other scheduling systems that can integrate with your existing tool stack. Also, if you’re located outside the US, Canada, or Australia, Square won’t work for you.
Start using Square Appointments for Free
I hope you found this review of the best free appointment scheduling software.
If you’re looking for more salon-specific tools, I also recommend you read my review of the best salon software, best point of sale systems for salons, as well as the best website builders for salons.
Conclusion
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